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Netherlands Air Force Plans

I'm slowly working through Kirk's plans for aircraft. He stopped posting detailed specs from around 1937 and so much else is open to speculation and many of his numerous planebuilder files will probably never appear here.

So I'm going through the progression plans he made and tweaking things slightly here and there I propose the following mix of new/ revised types, many of which are retrospective to fill the massive gap since 1937.

Koolhoven F.K.55
[Kirk was to base this off the OTL FK.55 and was to develop that into a P-63 type fighter as the F.K.59 but no specs were ever posted. I've based the specs on the real FK.55 with some scaling from the P-63. Note I've lowered the wing, so this conforms to Kirk's plans]
Developed from 1936 this novel single-seat interceptor has a supercharged engine within the fuselage behind the cockpit, leaving the nose free for armament. A tricycle undercarriage was fitted with the main landing gear retracing into the fuselage. The engine drives a contra-rotating propeller via an extension shaft. The first prototype flew in 1936 but was underpowered with its original Hispano-Suiza engine. Two subsequent prototypes had Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines but performance and handling problems resulted in major changes which saw both being rebuilt during 1939. In 1940 they emerged with a new centre fuselage section and the wings were moved to a lower fuselage position with a new undercarriage which retracted into the wings. They were powered by early 1,150hp Minerva Paladin V-12 engines with new superchargers and Rotol contra-rotating propellers from Britain. In 1941 a pre-production batch of ten were built and entry into service began in 1942.
Length: 9.25 m (30 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 16.00 m2 (172.23 ft2)
Empty weight: 2960 kg (6,527 lb)
Maximum take-off weight: 4760 kg (10,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1× 1,300hp Minerva Paladin I V-12 liquid-cooled engine
Maximum speed: 660 km/h (410 mph)
Cruising speed: 610 km/h (379 mph)
Range: 850 km (528 miles)
Rate of climb: 18.1 m/s (3,580 ft/min)
Armament: 2x 23mm FN-Madsen cannon mounted in the upper nose and 4x wing-mounted 13.2mm GAST MGs

Fokker D.XXV
[Rather than buy the Renard R.38 as planned for the Dutch air force, I've simply inserted the Fokker-Avia B.144 single-seat general purpose fighter Kirk designed for Avia and have that built as the Fokker D.XXV. Specs are the same as the B.144 and can be found in the NPC Aircraft thread.]

Fokker G-3
[Kirk's planned P-61-like NF is slightly less so here, think of this as a He-219 meets G-1 meets P-61 but with two-seats. Radar specs are filled in yet but expect both sets to be equal to foreign developlemts]
Alongside the G-2, Fokker was working on a Night-fighter variant to meet a requirement from the Air Force. The second G-2 prototype was modified during 1940 and began trials later that year. Both the pilot and observer sit in tandem, the glazed tail area and armament is removed and the glazed nose of the G-2 was replaced with a solid nose containing a Phillips director set with antenna and two 13.2mm GAST MGs. Four 23mm FN-Madsen cannon are fitted in a ventral pack. New wings of greater span and area were fitted and a new tricycle undercarriage was also fitted. Production began in 1941 and entry into service was during early 1943. The G-3A introduced in early 1944 lacked the nose machine-guns and the Phillips director set was updated with a centrimetric set with a hemispherical randome covering the nose antenna.
Wing Span: 20.12 m (66 ft 0 in)
Length: 12.1 m (40 ft 0 in)
Wing Area: 664 ft2
Maximum Weight: 19,730 lbs
Wingloading: 29.7 lb/ft2
Powerplant: 2x 1,530hp Minerva Paladin II V-12 liquid-cooled engines
Max speed: 627 km/h (390 mph)
Service Ceiling: 12340 m (40,500 ft)
Rate of climb: 16.3 m/sec (3,220 ft/min)
Range: 2896 km (1,800 miles)
Armament: 2x 13.2mm GAST MG in nose, 4x 23mm FN-Madsen cannon in ventral pack

Koolhoven F.K. 61
[Kirk loved fast bombers and he had in mind in his progression plans a DH Hornet-style bomber which seemed a bit puny. So I've taken the never-built DH.101 Super-Mosquito and used that instead. It's likely this might become the basis of the first Dutch jet-powered bomber]
Since 1935 Koolhoven designed a series of light bombers that never made to production. The Air Force studied the lessons of the South American War very closely and saw the need for a fast bomber. Fokker had offered a novel tri-motor design based on work it was doing with Fokker, but Koolhoven won a contract to produce a bomber modelled on the British de Havilland Mosquito as a fast defenceless bomber. The prototype flew on 29 July 1943 and the first bombers arrived in service in early 1945. The bomber has a crew of three in a pressurised cockpit and is powered by licence-built Napier Sabre engines.
Wingspan: 21.34 m (80 ft 0 in)
Length: 15.09 m (49 ft 6 in)
Height: 5.70 m (18 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 66.03 m2 (710 ft2)
Gross weight: 15264 kg (33,650 lb)
Max take-off weight: 17250 kg (38,030 lb)
Powerplant: 2x 2,340hp Napier/Minerva Sabre V 24-cylinder liquid-cooled engines
Maximum speed: 650 km/h (404 mph) at 7620 m (25,000 ft)
Service ceiling: 8839 m (29,000 ft)
Range: 2335 km (1,450 miles) internal fuel with 2725 kg (6,000 lb) load
Armament: 2000kg (4,409 lb) of bombs in an internal bomb bay and 1000 kg (2,204 lb) externally

Fokker T.X
[Kirk mentioned to me some time ago that he wanted Atlantic Aircraft to build a B-26 rather than the B-25 but could never figure out how to make that work out. Well, I've given Fokker the job here to meet Kirk's old wish]
This began as an improved T.IXB with better aerodynamics but further changes adding a tricycle undercarriage, remote-controlled dorsal and ventral turrets, the addition of a tail turret meant this became essentially a new design. The first prototype first flew on 29 August 1944 and was followed by four others. Following lengthy trials the type finally entered production in early 1946. Six crewmen are carried and the aircraft is equipped with a Signaal ground-mapping RDF bombing set.
Wingspan: 24.70 m (81 ft 0 in)
Length: 18.50 m (60 ft 7 in)
Height: 5.70 m (18 ft 7 in)
Empty weight: 12383 kg (27,300 lb)
Max take-off weight: 17250 kg (38,030 lb)
Powerplant: 2x 2,375hp Minerva Condor II 24-cylinder radial engines
Maximum speed: 460 km/h (286 mph)
Service ceiling: 9210 m (30,215 ft)
Range: 2800 km (1,740 miles)
Armament: twin 23mm FN-Madsen cannon in dorsal and ventral remotely-operated turrets, twin 23mm FN-Madsen cannon in tail turret, bomb load up to 2000kg (4,409 lb) in an internal bomb bay

De Schelde S.21
[In Kirk's plans, de schelde often gets overlooked, so taking the novel but strange OTL S.21 fighter design, I've made it into an observation type]
The development of the S.21 began in late 1939 as a novel fighter design. The Air Force, however, were not interested in a fighter and the design was adapted as an observation aircraft. The S.21 is a low-wing monoplane with twin tail booms and a large glass cockpit for the pilot in the fuselage gondola. It was powered by a Jumo 211 with a pusher propeller. The prototype was completed in May 1938. The type entered service in 1940 and its high speed and self-defensive armament improve its survivability in defended airspace.
Wingspan: 8.9 m (29 ft 1 in)
Length: 7.4 m (24 ft 2 in)
Height: 2.59 m (8 ft 4 in)
Empty weight: 1700 kg (3747 lb)
Maximum take-off weight: 2500 kg (5,510 lb)
Powerplant: 1,1183hp Junkers Jumo 211E
Maximum speed: 600 km/h (372 mph)
Cruising speed: 520 km/h (323 mph)
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,808 ft)
Range: 950 km (590 miles)
Armament: 1x 13.2mm GAST MG nose-mounted

Fokker C.XIIA/ C.XIIA.2
[This is a Kirk's Fokker-Avia B.159 dive-bomber with the same specs and Series II specs as posted in the NPC Aircraft thread]

Fokker F.37
[Kirk planned a military transport developed from the Fokker Arend F.36 airliner. This is it and the specs are the same as the airliner version from the Airliner thread.]

Fokker F.24T
[My own DC-3 esque medium cargo plane based off the F.24 medium airliner, specs same as posted in Airliner thread.]

Naval Reconnaissance / Torpedo bombers

Fokker T.XV-W
[I've seen a need to for a medium-sized flying boat, I was going to clone the Grumman Goose but went with the bigger Mallard. Fokker did design a few similar designs OTL before 1940 but I've only seen pictures and no plans, so I like to think this is fairly realistic.]
In 1943 a requirement was raised to replace the Do-18 fleet and Fokker designed a medium-sized flying boat. The design of the hull required hours of hydrodynamic trials and the high-mounted monoplane wing has retractable floats. Up to six crewmen can be carried and there are glazed observation stations on each side of the fuselage and in the nose is a Phillips surface-search RDF set. The prototype flew on 11 November 1944 and entry into service was during mid-1946.
Wingspan: 20.3 m (66 ft 7 in)
Length: 14.7 m (48 ft 3 in)
Height: 5.72 m (18 ft 9 in)
Empty weight: 4150 kg (9,150 lb)
Max take-off weight: 6500 kg (14,330 lb)
Powerplant: 2× 1,230hp Junkers Motorenbau Jumo 208C 12-cyl diesel engines
Maximum speed: 362 km/h (225 mph)
Cruising speed: 29 km/h (183 mph)
Service ceiling: 8685 m (28,500 ft)
Rate of climb: 6.9 m/s (1,350 ft/min)
Range: 2285 km (1,420 miles)
Armament: twin 13.2mm GAST MGs in dorsal turret, 1x 13.2mm GAST MG in each side hatch, bomb load of bombs/ depth bombs/ mines up to 2000 kg (4400 lb) underwing

Fokker T.XII-W
[Kirk's much vaunted Design 121 never appeared in planebuilder form, I'd already simmed the civil version so this is the military version]
Also known as Design 121, this large flying boat was designed by Fokker, but the hull was designed and built by Dornier. It formed the basis of the F.122 airliner flying boat. The prototype flew during 1937 after some delay and eventually deliveries began during the summer of 1939. A crew up to eleven can be carried and they have full galley and rest facilities.
Length: 42.3 m (138 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 48 m (157 ft 5 in)
Height: 7.9 m (25 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 310 m² (3,337 ft²)
Loaded weight: 38555 kg (85,000 lb)
Powerplant: four 1,230hp Junkers Motorenbau Jumo 208C 12-cyl diesel engines
Maximum speed: 490 km/h (304 mph)
Range: 4500 km (2,794 miles) with normal payload, 6700 km (4,150 miles) with maximum fuel
Armament: 1x 23mm FN-Madsen cannon in nose and tail turrets, twin 13.2mm GAST MGs in dorsal turret, 1x 13.2mm GAST MG in each side observation blister, the inner wings have four bays which can accommodate up to 2000kg (4,409 lb) of bombs and depth-bombs or mines

Dornier Do-18 G-1
Kirk had posted the specs of the Jumo 205D powered Do-18G but with the older 600hp 205C engines, so in WW I'd like to refit all with the OTL 880hp Junkers Jumo 205D diesel engines during 1942.

Atlantic BA-10W
[Kirk never posted specs for this, he had gotten roughly the same performance as the older BA-7W due to better simming in planebuilder. I've gone for a fresh sheet, and this is a clone of the Grumman F3F-3S Wildcatfish seaplane fighter which I thought possible for a US-based company. Specs are inferior to the BA-7W by some margin, due to over-generous planebuilder simming which Kirk freely admitted.]
In 1936 work began at Atlantic on a successor to the BA-7W for the ship and shore based seaplane fighter requirement. The design was a modern all-metal single-seat monoplane with twin floats. The prototype first flew in February 1938 and deliveries began soon after as no major problems were found during testing, although performance was poorer than expected.
Wingspan: 11.58 m (38 ft 0 in)
Length: 8.76 m (28 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in)
Loaded weight: 3,200 kg (7,000 lb)
Powerplant: 1,200hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-76 double-row radial engine
Maximum speed: 388 km/h (241 mph)
Service ceiling: 39,500 ft (12,000 m)
Range: 1,360 km (845 miles)
Armament: 4 × 13.2mm GAST MGs in wing with 450rpg, 2x 50 kg bombs underwing

An interesting set of designs, and certainly a lot of them - I am still studying them in detail. Exactly how large is the "customer base" going to be for these aircraft? Depending on the size of the Dutch (and/or Belgian) air services, some of the more specialized designs could be expensive to build in small numbers.

That did occur to me too, especially the burden on Fokker, though Aviolanda and De Schelde are useful sub-contractors.
As to the market, Kirk estimated the total size of the Air Force, including ship-based but not carrier-based aircraft, at 3,792 in 1937. I'm adding about 4-5 air wings of 64 aircraft each, so that's going to be around 4,000 aircraft of all types.

I may need to add another foreign-brought fighter for tactical uses if the numbers are too high, perhaps the F.K.60, perhaps something from elsewhere in Europe.

That did occur to me too, especially the burden on Fokker, though Aviolanda and De Schelde are useful sub-contractors.
As to the market, Kirk estimated the total size of the Air Force, including ship-based but not carrier-based aircraft, at 3,792 in 1937. I'm adding about 4-5 air wings of 64 aircraft each, so that's going to be around 4,000 aircraft of all types.

Does that number represent only units deployed at home or does it include the Netherlands East Indies? And does it include non-combat types including trainers?

Given the size of the airframe and aero-engine industry necessary to maintain a force that size, I think the burden on all the Dutch contractors would be significant.

Ah... including the colonial and East Indies forces in that total makes for a clearer picture; otherwise the air space over Holland would be very densely populated. I would comment that the ratio of operational aircraft to training aircraft is extremely low... unless operational squadrons are doing their own flying training. In that regard you may want to consider some revisions.

German commercial attaché in the Hague forwards copies of sales brochures from German aircraft manufacturers featuring training aircraft... :D

Thanks guys, *sends brochures to Australia*. No pics yet but you can assume the they much like the OTL they are based on until I can draw these.
I'm ok for trainers Bruce, but I'm looking for an Avro Anson type transport/trainer/inexpensive hack.

This is my draft OOB based on Kirk's previous work but fleshed out a bit. [HEALTH WARNING! From this I will scale my inventories by types and functions so changes in what some units are equipped with and the overall numbers of units and even wings may change between this and the final version, but it shows where my mind is at this point and a rough guide to what is where and how much.

***

Aircraft Wings are generally arranged in four combat squadrons, each squadron is equipped with 16 aircraft. A fifth service squadron is a mixture of reconnaissance, transports and trainers dedicated to the wing. Each Air Wing has at least two or three airfields under its command, plus emergency and reserve landing grounds for those based overseas. [I have changed from Kirk's multi-type Air Wings as I feel those are likely to be inefficient but the structure is the same]

A typical Fighter Air Wing consists of:
Two squadrons of interceptors
One squadron of fighters
One squadron of heavy/ night fighters
One service Squadron composed of one flight of transports and one flight of trainers
One reservist fighter squadron

A typical Bomber/ Ground-Attack Air Wing consists of:
One squadron of fighters
Three squadron of bombers or ground-attack aircraft
One service Squadron composed of two flights of transports, one flight of reconnaissance aircraft and one flight of trainers of types equipping the other units
One reservist bomber squadron

The WW Mustang was a Fokker-America/Atlantic Aircraft design, with Australia being the launch customer.

Quoted

Hey the Mustang is a North American Aviation design !
(Doesn't mean copies are not expected)

Of course North American Aviation didn't produce planes in the early 1930s and was was absorbed by GMC's General Aviation division in 1933, still under the NAA name. Another notable company absorbed by that division, that did have a design and production history, was Fokker-America, aka Atlantic Aircraft.

That amalgamation, led by James "Dutch" Kindelberger, put out the Texan and Mustang.

However, in Wesworld, Fokker-America never was sold to GMC, and is back to the Atlantic Aircraft moniker. Hence why Atlantic (which I have discussed with CanisD) has put out the BT-9 / T-6 "Texan" trainer and will eventually be fielding the Mustang.

The WW Mustang was a Fokker-America/Atlantic Aircraft design, with Australia being the launch customer.

Quoted

Hey the Mustang is a North American Aviation design !
(Doesn't mean copies are not expected)

Of course North American Aviation didn't produce planes in the early 1930s and was was absorbed by GMC's General Aviation division in 1933, still under the NAA name. Another notable company absorbed by that division, that did have a design and production history, was Fokker-America, aka Atlantic Aircraft.

That amalgamation, led by James "Dutch" Kindelberger, put out the Texan and Mustang.

However, in Wesworld, Fokker-America never was sold to GMC, and is back to the Atlantic Aircraft moniker. Hence why Atlantic (which I have discussed with CanisD) has put out the BT-9 / T-6 "Texan" trainer and will eventually be fielding the Mustang.

So far as I am concerned, North American Aviation is under control of the US player, under its historical ownership, with all its historical aircraft. Regarding the Australian P-51 version, if Oz has built an aircraft that looks very similar to the OTL P-51 Mustang then I shan't quibble over it, however they cannot surpass or overtake NAA development of the aircraft in Wesworld which currently is the D model in service with the H model undergoing testing. That I think is an acceptable compromise for all involved.

A note to all players, I am fairly open to requests for another nation making a clone of various US aircraft, however my "rules" are I don't give away aircraft, and your aircraft cannot surpass the development of what the US has or would have had if they developed the aircraft in Wesworld. Given some of the issues in the past, I think that's a decent compromise.

That settles things I think.
The only Atlantic (Fokker Atlantic) types I'm using are ones designed by Kirk when Canis was in charge. I've made a few later A-9 trainer mods but I guess they could have been built in the Netherlands or I could switch to another home-grown design.
From my perspective, to tie up any further loose ends, Fokker sold their shareholding to GMC around 1938.

I'm doing an Excel number crunch and I've seen some changes in the fighters. I need to add some auxiliary formations (target tugs, radar calibration, meteorology) but this will be using old types anyway. Hopefully I'll get some manpower and training requirements figures too.

Could we agree on an IC sale of Atlantic to the US in 1938 then instead of a straight retcon? With a corresponding sale of Fokker Australia to Australian Aviation? The current Australian Mustang version is the P-51B with Malcolm hood.